I recently started reading the book Everybody, Always by Bob Goff. If you have not heard of this book, you may be familiar with his first book, Love Does.

He is a writer, a lawyer, a professor, and started a nonprofit organization called Love Does (I strongly encourage you to look up his organization to find out more about it). I started reading Everybody, Always not knowing the lessons that it would teach me.

I was blind to the many lessons that were inside the pages of this book. The book tells multiple stories about Goff's life and the people he has met. It is a book about adventure, life, and most importantly, love.

One lesson I learned from the book, although there are many lessons to be told, was that we are called to love one another. I was recently sitting in Charleston traffic on my way to work. I had a twenty-five-minute drive, and that day, because of traffic it took me two hours to get to work.

While sitting in traffic, I was filled with panic and called my mom in tears asking her what I should do. What did not make the situation any better was the thousands of other people on their way to work honking and screaming at me through their windshield to go. Needless to say, it was not the best way to start my morning.

Finally, after making it work and settling down, I began to reflect on the events that had happened. I was stuck in traffic with nothing to do but wait, along with the other thousands of people that were stuck in traffic. I, like the many eager drivers, were frustrated with the cars in front of me, and let my emotions take control over me.

Instead of growing angry at the cars in front of me, or getting angry at the person who honked at me, I could have let a car go in front of me. Or even smiled and waved at the car who treated me with disgust. I could have treated the people who showed hatred towards me with love. Why would I do this, you may ask?

We are called to love one another.

Maybe just putting a smile on your face and trying to love like Jesus will change the way people look at the world. I, like you, totally agree that loving other people is a hard task to complete, but in our efforts, we do not have to perfect.

A quote that stood out to me in this book that relates to my attitude toward trying to love those that are stuck in traffic with me is, "Love one another," What is simple often isn't easy; what is east often does not last."Loving one another is not a simple task, nor is it easy to do." Author, Bob Goff, encourages us in chapter three by stating that, "No one expects us to love them flawlessly, but we can love them fearlessly, furiously, and unreasonably."

Humans are not perfect, and I am not alone when I say that I am not perfect. So maybe, just maybe, if we start trying to love another by simple tasks people will begin to recognize the face of Jesus. Next time you are stuck in traffic or waiting in line at a coffee shop, smile at the people who are annoyed with you, thank the barista for making your coffee and tell him/her to have a great day.

Your efforts of loving others do not have to be perfect, by any means, it can be award and uncomfortable, but by loving others we are showing others the face of Jesus no matter how awkward we may feel.